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And whenever we think we are doing REALLY well, we see some museum exhibit, the Candy Hill book, something like that, and say "Oh....." and head back to the shop to try and do better.
If we all spent our time here finding and pointing out all the faults with each others projects this wouldn't be a very fun place to hang out.
and head back to the shop to try and do better.And yes, the encouragement (and the banter) here really helps!
Almost every one of my engines have some mistake or boo boo in them. I leave them there as a lesson that is reinforced every time I see them. All I can do is learn from them and try not to repeat them.
I try to follow the advice I've given to my son and daughter. Try to do your best. There will always be someone who does better or worse so learn from both. I happiest when I learn something new or accomplished a task that I have never done before. I'm always amazed at the talents of others and appreciate their skills, many examples here on MEM.
They think it's a wonderful job. Or they're lying, but I do have a couple of friends/relatives that will tell me like they see it.
It IS about the journey, don't give up. If it doesn't work, find out why.
The problem with accurate work is ...that once you make the first bit dead accurate ,all the other parts have to be dead accurate as well.....If you have a dead accurate 1" shaft then make a 1" hole the shaft won't go in the hole ?? !! so which part was the accurate 1" bit ??..........i think we should be told !! And as my mum told me a lick of paint covers a multitude of sins !!Willy
Use it or loose it
I always focus on the mistakes and glitches. They come rushing to the front while the ok bits recede into the background. Other people saying 'it looks good to me' doesn't seem to make any difference because I know the errors are there.However, there is a cure for this affliction: consume a couple of beers and a goodly amount of red wine and then go and look again. It's surprising the difference it makes.
Anyway Gary, to add to your cure for the affliction....................give it some time. I've built things and knew where the errors were. However, some time later, whatever the project was, it looked good and I couldn't remember for the life of what the errors were!
The symptoms are if I try to do something which requires any sort of concentration after an hour I find myself totally unable to think straight Maybe it is a symptom of having been retired for 18 months
Something other than (shudder) returning to work.
I guess where the dividing line between our satisfaction with a finished piece and the next person is where we choose to say "I'm happy with the part!" Warts and all. Some choose to redo a job or part until it's basically perfect. My response is whatever makes you happy.
I always focus on the mistakes and glitches.
Ok here goes!The question can be answered very simply or drawn out to great lengths.Me personally in my life I have had the good fortune to have been exposed to many of the manual crafts, art, plumbing, woodwork, mechanics and not the least of which is machining. Whenever I was around someone who was doing something I took a great interest and asked a lot of questions.I think for those of us that have had similar exposures it comes down to dedication to do the best in whichever discipline we enjoy the most. You have to take into account that in general today's culture doesn't expose the youth to the many manual arts that we were exposed to unless a parent passes along his knowledge. As far as mistakes, who doesn't make them? I don't know how many times I've made a part over with a head slap thinking "why on earth did I do that?" I guess where the dividing line between our satisfaction with a finished piece and the next person is where we choose to say "I'm happy with the part!" Warts and all. Some choose to redo a job or part until it's basically perfect. My response is whatever makes you happy. In this life it's all about happiness and whatever we can do to make ourselves, or others happy, then go for it! Everyone has had good responses to the original question so take a little from each and enjoy the day.gbritnell
Indeed, I have always admired Don's (almost jewellery), George's and others fine attention to the finish of their models. However that is not my interest, I need to understand how it works and how I can make it work better. I make plenty of trial pieces but that is how you learn. Everyone has their own version of their hobby, all are valid